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2016 - January

You always wanted to be the mayor of a sprawling, vibrant city? Here is your chance with this desktop city: A collection of tiny buildings and vehicles that is easy to build and looks great on even the smallest space.
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2015 - December

Here is model no. 22 of the winter village advent calendar is a house with a bit of a peculiar design. Two stories, nestled into each other. Here is the PDF. You can buy the (very affordable) whole set from my Etsy store.
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This is model no. 11 of the winter village advent calendar is a house with a gullwing roof. This roof type gives the house quite a unique and nice look. Here is the PDF. You can buy the (very affordable) whole set from my Etsy store.
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This is model no. 5 for the winter village advent calendar: This is a very narrow, wooden house. This has probably been cramped in between two existing houses… Here is the PDF. You can buy the (very affordable) whole set from my Etsy store.
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Everyone loves robots, right? The nice robots of the good old days, of course, not some shape-shifting terminator bent on the destruction of mankind. So since Christmas is drawing near, for those of you who can’t wait, here is a vintage robot advent calendar. You can buy the whole set, but there are also three […]
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Want to give your kids something other than candy for an advent calendar? Why not a papercraft project. This one is for a winter village, and it contains 24 easy to make buildings. From a tiny shed to the village church, some are big, some are small, but all are cute and snowy. One reader, Mike, […]
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2015 - October

2015 - September

Jonah and the whale is a story almost 3000 years old, but it hasn’t lost its fascination. For a children’s church project, I designed this whale and Jonah, who fits into the whale’s maw: This proejct is not difficult to build. Here are brief instructions on how to do it: All flaps and accompanying opposite […]
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2015 - June

Many papercraft printables are not accessible to younger children – they require motor skills that only come with age. At the same time, papercrafts are a perfect pastime for young children: They teach important construction and manual skills in a playful way, let children learn about shapes and geometry, and they provide a lot of space […]
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2015 - March

Great news: My papercraft alphabet is coming out as a book! So for those of you who felt that printing and cutting out the 26 letters was a bit too much of a time investment (which, frankly, I absolutely understand), here is your chance of making the alphabet: The letters in the book are […]
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2014 - October

For Halloween, I designed a clothespin with a skull attached to it (don’t ask, all kinds of weird ideas happen when you have kids): This one was 3D printed in PLA, which is a sturdy enough plastic to withstand the forces of the clothespin spring. Here it is in action: In the unlikely case that you want […]
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2014 - April

Here is something for kids learning basic math: The groceries game is about going to the supermarket and shopping for everyday groceries. So how does it work? First of all, this is not a competitive game. There is no winner or loser. You just buy and sell items to your co-players. However, I found that […]
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2014 - March

Even in this day and age of velcro, kids should learn how to tie their shoelaces. You can use a real shoe for that, but depending to what extent that shoe was in use before, this can get a bit messy. I have created a little learning tool for my kids: It’s basically a flat […]
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2014 - February

Ok, here is the third (and possibly final) installement of my three-piece series of elephriend customs: The devil elephriend. He is the evil (and grumpy) counterpart to the angel elephriend. Here is the template. PS: The third one is the steampunk elephriend.
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Here is another custom elephriend, based on the template published by the Urban Paper Collective: The angel. Here is the template PS: Here is the counterpart, the devil elephriend. And here is the first one, a steampunk elephriend.
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The Urban Paper Collective has released a ‘platform toy’, the ‘Elephriend’. What they mean by platform toy is that this is a blank papercraft template that you can use as a starting point for your own designs. Well, I did, and the result is this steampunk elephriend: Here is the printable PDF […]
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Just made the latest addition to the Cubicity set: A female scientist. This was a custom request by a reader, Trudy, who rightfully felt that women were a bit underrepresented in Cubicity. So, here she is: She has a beaker in her other hand, which makes her both a chemist and a physicist […]
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2013 - December

2013 - November

Here is a kind of ‘interactive’ model and actually quite a nice toy: A ‘working’ instant camera made from paper: So, what do I mean by working? Well, you can turn the crank on the right-hand side and the camera will output a picture you have taken. The mechanism is robust enough to work […]
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2012 - October

Following up on my previous post of a Maneki Neko / Lucky Cat, here is an alternative design courtesy of my five year old daughter (if you are more interested in the original, more traditionally textured model, click here): She decorated a blank test model with a black felt-tip pen. This is probably just a […]
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Here is a quick little papercraft project for Halloween – a skeleton for the kids: This one is quite easy to make, however you may need to tweak it a bit in order to have it stand stably. Here is the PDF template: skeleton.pdf Want even more Halloween fun? Here is Frankenstein and his monster. […]
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Finally a new model, and frankly one that I’m a bit proud of – after all, it did require quite some work to get it right in the end. And it’s my first one with movable parts. It’s a lucky or beckoning cat, popular in Japan and China (where I got the inspiration, when I […]
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2012 - July

This is my take on the matryoshka theme: Six women from all walks of line, nested one inside the other: Of course, from a practical point of view, these dolls are somewhat lacking. As opposed to the ‘real’ matryoshka dolls made of wood, the paper version is very fragile and a bit finnicky to open […]
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Here it is – the last letter of the alphabet. Congratulations if you made all 26 letters! You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. Here is the template as a PDF file.
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This is basically the single one animal starting with the letter ‘Y’ both in English and German. If you have made all 24 letters coming before this one in the alphabet, you will be relieved to fnd that this one is very easy to make. You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft […]
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This is what it looks like when you x-ray a letter – you did know that they are made of flesh and bones, right? You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. Here is the template as a PDF file.
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Walrus are strange animals, when you look at them closely. Even more so when they are turned into the shape of the letter W. You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. Here is the template as a PDF file.
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Vampires seem to be quite en vogue these days. Well, I prefer the old-school ones over their ‘new millenium’ counterparts. I was slightly tempted to include a bit of blood tripping from one of the canines, but then I didn’t want to have to explain to my five year old daughter about the staple diet […]
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Turns out there are surprisingly few concrete nouns in English starting with the letter ‘U’. And technically, UFO is not a noun but an acronym. Anyway, I think for the purpose of the papercraft alphabet, this works quite nicely: You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. Here is the template […]
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The tiger is again easy to make. I realized soon after having finished the design, that he looks much more clueless and much less fierce than his relative, the lion. Sorry, tiger – you may be in for a redesign in the future. You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. […]
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The snake is vaguely modelled after the Garter snake (with different colors, obviously). It is once again somewhat difficult to build, with all the curvatures. Prepare to be patient with this model and glue segment for segment, making sure that each part is solidly sticking before moving on to the next one. You will find […]
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What better thing to represent the letter ‘R’ than a colorful rainbow? I have to warn you that the ‘R’ is a bit difficult to build, what with the small inner space and the many angles. You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. Here is the template as a PDF […]
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Ok, I admit it wasn’t easy to come up with something representing the letter Q. Quetzalcoatl is the best I could do. Quetzalcoatl is a mesoamerican god whose name means ‘feathered serpent’. He is one of the more important Aztec deities. You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. Here is […]
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The parrot is once again an easy template, except maybe for the curvature of the beak. Very importantly, don’t forget to glue a small weight into the base – such as a small coin. Otherwise, the parrot will fall over. Here is how to make the P (the photos are a slightly updated version […]
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Making the orange ‘O’ is a bit difficult because of the inner ring. I suggest you start with gluing it to one side, then the outer ring to the same side, then cover everything with the other side. You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. Here is the template as […]
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Congratulation: If you made all other letters in alphabetical order, you are now halfway there – this is the 14th of the 26 letters. In typical ninja fashion, this guy is quite sneaky: If you approach him from the front, he looks just like a plain and inconspicuous letter N. Only if you look at […]
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The animal to use for the letter L was obviously quite easy to decide: The majestic lion. You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. Here is the template as a PDF file.
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Technically, this letter is actually two animals – mother kangaroo and her joey in the pouch. I should warn you that cutting out and assembling this letter is a bit challenging – the parts around the faces are quite small. You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. Here is the […]
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The jester is relatively easy to build, however you should take care to glue a small weight (such as a cent coint) inside the base, otherwise he will fall over on his face. You will find the other 25 letters of the papercraft alphabet here. Here is the template as a PDF file.
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Enjoy the easiest to build letter – the Indian. He is wearing a sherwani, in case you were wondering. Some people are worried about the ethnic / cultural reference, so in case you need to steer clear of such issues, here is an alternative: I for Insect: You will find the other 25 letters of […]
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Probably the most abstract of the papercraft letters – the handshake: I only realized after the fact that these guys have but one hand. Well, I think the letter still works as it is, but maybe this is a good candidate for a revised version sometime in the future. You will find the other 25 […]
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Ok, I admit I had struggled a bit with the animal for the letter F. Flies are not exactly my – or, I imagine, most people’s – favourite pet: No need to even pretend this is cute, but hey – there aren’t too many animal names starting with the letter F both in English and […]
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The doctor is in: And not only does he administer absolutely painless treatments for all your health-related woes, he is also part of the papercraft alphabet. Here is the template as a PDF file.
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2012 - June

This colorful C-shaped chameleon is part of the papercraft alphabet. If you are interested in a more realistic looking chameleon (well, sort of), I have a full-fledged chameleon model as well – look here. Here is the template as a PDF file.
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2012 - April

Nothing to see here, just a dinosaur doing science. His biggest weakness? Meteorites and volcanism. His biggest strength? The theory of evolution. He’s a strong believer in white labcoats and safety goggles. Here is the PDF template.
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Arrr… yes, mate, your eyes aren’t betraying you – this here is a pirate fish: And not the Somali kind either, but a true buccaneer, navigating the seven seas shipless. This one turned out nicer than I expected, therefore I almost feel inclined to make a whole crew – or should I say, school? – […]
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2012 - February

Ok, I’ll admit it: I’m officially an old man. I know Beatlemania is long over, and society has moved on, but what can I do – I’m still a Beatles fan. And as embarrasing as it may be, I especially like their classics. Such as Lucy in the Sky. And when you listen to that […]
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2012 - January

I decided to start a ‘line’ of very, very simple papercraft toys. I’m calling it Cubicity, as these have a, well, rather square shape, and the overall topic is slightly urban. Well, actually the cubicity people come from all walks of life, and if you look closely you will even discover that some are from […]
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This is a small cardboard toucan: It can sit on the corner of, say, your NEC monitor. In order to make that work, you have to glue a small weight such as a coin to the inside of the feet, like so: This will give enough balance to keep the bird safely atop of any […]
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2011 - December

Now that I have featured the fox, the crow and the bear finger dolls, I wanted to show you all three together. All three being forest beasts, they go together quite well, the cheeky crow, the sly fox and the relaxed bear. These are extremely easy to make, and should be doable for kids at […]
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When it comes to finger dolls, it seems I have a slight bias for northern European forest beasts. Here is a crow: This one goes well with the fox and the bear. Here is the template as a PDF file.
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As social creatures, we have the amazing ability to project a soul into virtually anything that has two eyes and a mouth. This opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to dolls. And sometimes the simplest dolls are the most loved ones. So I set out to create a couple of papercrafted […]
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2011 - November

It is a dear tradition in our family to get the kids an advent calendar. Now, for this year I wanted to make something myself rather than buy a run-off-the-mill calendar. And of course, being an advent calendar, it should be related to the story of Christmas. Voila, enter the DIY nativity scene advent calendar: […]
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Meet Randy the office rat. He’s a pretty nice guy – if you know him better. In fact, Randy’s the coworker of your dreams. If you dream of coworkers like Randy, that is. And the best thing about Randy? It just so happens you can build him yourself. Here is the template in PDF format.
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2011 - October

This is fairly simple and doesn’t require glueing, although some precision cutting: A paper rocket made of interlocking parts: It’s not the most stable toy, and in fact is more something to look at than to play with. However, I like the kind of minimalistic charm of it. Here is how to assemble it: First, […]
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2011 - July

This little project is quite a contrast to the previously made P-Body– Not surprisingly, actually, as this was commissioned by a 4-year old girl. And girlish it is indeed: A nice little cottage. This can be used as a toy, or just for decoration. The original template is a little small for playing, so you […]
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Don’t ask me how it came to pass, but I decided to make a papercraft chameleon. After some tweaking of the color scheme, I settled for a classical B/W and red combination. The daughter dismissed it as a toy, lacking the cuddly factor. So I had to reluctantly move it over to the decorative […]
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2011 - May

Hello, test subjects – Cave Johnson here. I give you – a paper model of the Portal 2 Frankenturret. It’s somewhat finnicky to assemble, I admit that, but it will be the best Frankenturret your desk has seen in a while, I assure you. You may want to build more than one, though, as they […]
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2011 - April

May I introduce you to the gentleman dinosaur: He is as distinguished as he is obsolete. That’s the way things go these days. If you want to assemble him, here is the template (see also instructions here): Corel Draw PDF PDF + GSD (Craft Robo) SVG
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Most of you will be too young to remember Herbie, the sentient Volkswagen Beetle created by Disney in more innocent times. Speaking of innocence, here is a slightly more dangerous version: I give you – the Herbieraptor.
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Aren’t you tired of the run-of-the-mill tame velociraptor? Well, here is a deadly variety – and it’s a lady. She has been wronged, and is now on a rampage to set things straight. How more deadly can it get? And she is armed, as well. With a Hattori Hanzo sword, no less: About time for […]
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They are called velociraptors for a reason – these guys are fast: And they are dressed to – no, not to kill, but to race. With their primary colors and fancy racing stripes, these guys are the envy of fashionistas all over the world. It’s not getting any more hipsteriffic. And here is the good […]
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2011 - March

Sometimes the world of Lego® minifigures – as colorful as it may be – can be a bit mundane. Here is something to give it more style: High art. Hanging these up is significantly easier than with the real thing: Just align the holes in the flaps with the stubs of the wall bricks, and […]
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What would the world be without sheep? A sad, desolate place, that’s what. And to contribute to the sheepness of our nice little universe, here is a paper sheep: And lo and behold, you can make your very own, just by downloading, printing, cutting and gluing the template below. Admittedly this sheep is not as […]
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Here is company for the dog and the cow: A hippo. This is admittedly somewhat complicated to assemble. The head is curved, and getting the curvature right takes a little bit of patience. The rest of the model is very simple, but the head can give you, well, some headache. Here it is in a […]
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Playing with the fusion of Lego® and paper, I came across a nice way of improving the ubiquitous minifigures. A simple paper layout allows to quickly add new heads, featuring whatever design you come up with. Here is the result: The underlying design is quite simple and doesn’t require any glue. If you cut it […]
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Here is a little something I did for Valentine’s day for my significant other: A paper vase and flower. The ‘vase’ is made from two pieces of paper, slid into each other, and the flower is a couple of cut-out petal shapes. Here are the parts: If you want to make this, here is the […]
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2011 - February

Ok, this is funy: The post was originally titled ‘A cow named Sue’. I thought I’d give the cow a name, for the sake of reinforcing the anthropomorphization. Fast forward a couple of months later, I look at my web stats and more specifically the referrers. Turns out there were two Google searches for the […]
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If you haven’t already stumbled upon it, Muji and Lego found a great way of combining paper and Lego® bricks. For any Lego® afficionado, that is exciting news in and of itself. However, I think that this idea can be expanded some more. If we combine Lego®-compatible punches in sheets of paper with a cutting plotter such […]
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Who wouldn’t agree that pandas are the most adorable of all huge, vicious animals capable of killing man with one stroke of their paw? Well, and exactly for this reason I have created a panda paper model. This model features a number of rounded shapes, and therefore is actually quite tricky to assemble. It takes […]
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As you may or may not know, Janus was the two-faced Roman god responsible for doors, gateway, beginnings, endings – anything transition. One face would look back, and the other into the future. Whooo – the symbolism! Now, for the first time in history, man’s best friend and this mind-blowing concept of ambivalence have been […]
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Well, you've sure come to the right place. Here is a dog you can make quickly from a sheet of paper. It's bipedal. though, so technically it's more a dog deity than a mere mortal dog. But hey, what's not to like about man's best friend taking the next evolutionary step?
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Material list

Paper / cardstock:
I recommend 180gsm / 65lb white, matte cardstock. Check if your printer can actually process this kind of paper, but most should do fine. For the US, I recommend Array Card Stock. For Germany, I recommend this cardstock.
For other countries, look for A4 or US letter 170-190gsm or about 65lb white carstock, which is suitable for printing with an inkjet or laser printer.

Scissors / knives:
You should have both scissors and a crafting knife. Scissors are for round / irregular shapes, and knives are for straight lines and holes. For the US, these Scotch scissors and an X-acto knife can be recommended.

Glue:
Don't use sticks - they are difficult to apply to tiny pieces. Instead, use liquid glue. About any kind works, but it should be not too runny. There are glues which are white initially but transparent when set - very useful for seeing where you have already applied glue. Don't use too much glue - try applying it with a toothpick. For the US, I'd recommend Elmer's glue, for Europe Pritt Bastelkleber

Printer:
I recommend an inkjet printer over a laser printer. With laser printers, the toner forms a layer on top of the paper, which cracks when folded. With inkjets, the color seeps into the page and looks better over folds.
Almost any printer will do, but ideally use one which can handle heavy (180g) paper. If possible, use a straight paper path (some printers can be fed from the back or a special manual feed, so that the paper is not bent when going through the printer).

Disclosure on affiliate links:
The list above contains affiliate links, i.e. I get paid by Amazon when you purchase something via these links. By using these links, you can support my website and help me recover a small part of my expenses for it.